Freeze-dried aerated fruit or vegetable compositions and methods of making thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention comprises a freeze-dried, aerated fruit or vegetable composition comprising a fruit or vegetable ingredient and an emulsifier and methods of making thereof.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 12/650,820, filed Dec.31, 2009, which is a continuation-in-part of, based upon and claims thebenefit of priority from U.S. Ser. No. 12/599,328, filed on Nov. 9,2009, which claims priority to International Application No.PCT/US08/63306, filed on May 9, 2008, which claims priority to U.S. Ser.No. 60/916,956, filed on May 9, 2007, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Aerated compositions are known in the art. Aeration can providedesirable characteristics such as light, fluffy textures. It is alsoknown in the art that aerated products are subject to physical andchemical instability and therefore can destabilize over time. Onesolution to such instability issues in aerated milk-based productsincludes the addition of a hydrated emulsifier to already cultured dairyproducts before aeration (See e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 7,005,157, hereinafter“the '157 patent”). Specifically, the '157 patent teaches against addingingredients directly to the milk blend prior to fermentation becausesuch ingredients can adversely affect processing considerations such asfermentation times. The '157 patent teaches that the addition of ahydrated emulsifier post-fermentation avoids adversely lengtheningfermentation times while contributing to stability. Freeze-drying is aprocess well known in the food industry. It is critical in furtherdrying aerated products that the resulting product retain sensoryattributes that are important to consumers. Using the invention taughtin the '157 patent, hydration of the aerated product beforefreeze-drying can detrimentally affect physical stability. For example,a hydrated, aerated product when freeze-dried may result in increasedfragility during shipping and handling of the product. Fruit purees aredifficult to freeze-dry because of their sugar content. The fruit pureeshold onto water, so it is difficult to decouple the sugar and water.

As a further example, dissolvability is an important issue in afreeze-dried product. Specifically, the aerated product, which has beendried and treated with air, must still remain readily dissolvable uponconsumption at such a rate as to transfer flavor to the consumer's tastebuds. Moreover, the product should be readily dissolvable to reduce therisk of choking hazards for consumers with restricted or under-developedoral motor skills or digestive functions. As a known solution,increasing the aeration can improve dissolvability. However, increasedaeration has the negative effect of reducing the hardness of the endproduct. When the hardness is reduced, the physical stability of productcan be compromised.

Therefore, there is a need for a product that is freeze-dried andaerated that has improved physical stability and improveddissolvability.

SUMMARY

The present invention comprises a freeze-dried, aerated fruit orvegetable composition comprising a fruit or vegetable ingredient and anemulsifier and methods of making thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used throughout, ranges are used as a shorthand for describing eachand every value that is within the range. Any value within the range canbe selected as the terminus of the range. When used, the phrase “atleast one of” refers to the selection of any one member individually orany combination of the members. The conjunction “and” or “or” can beused in the list of members, but the “at least one of” phrase is thecontrolling language. For example, at least one of A, B, and C isshorthand for A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B, B and C, A and C, or Aand B and C.

“Freeze-dry” is a dehydration process that works by freezing thematerial and then reducing the surrounding pressure to allow the frozenwater in the material to sublimate directly from the solid phase to gas.

“Aeration” is the process of introducing air to increase gasconcentration in liquids. Aeration may be performed by bubbling a gasthrough the liquid, spraying the liquid into the gas or agitation of theliquid to increase surface absorption.

“Dissolvability” is defined as the change in hardness of a product ingoing from a dry to a wet state.

“Hardness” is defined as the peak stress prior to fracturing a material.Universal Tester model 4465 with 100 N static load cell, manufactured byInstron in Canton, Mass., is used. The probe used for testing is acompression anvil #2830-011. Initial settings for speed of probe were 1mm/second to approximately 90% compression. Speed based upon journalarticle in J. Texture Studies, 36 (2005), pp 157-173, “Effects of SampleThickness of Bite Force for Raw Carrots and Fish Gels.” Testing isrepeated on 10-15 replicate samples for each variable.

“Viscosity” is defined as a measure of the resistance of a substance toflow. Viscosity is measured using a Brookfield viscometer with aHelipath® stand with an F-T bar before the composition is aerated.Viscosity aids in holding the shape of a substance through aeration anddeposit.

The present invention comprises a fruit or vegetable composition usefulin the preparation of a freeze-dried, aerated product. The firstcomponent of the composition comprises a fruit or vegetable ingredient.The fruit or vegetable ingredient is selected from any ordinarily knownin the art. Preferably, the fruit or vegetable ingredient is pureed. Thefruit or vegetable ingredient is present in amount of from 60% to 98%,preferably from 70% to 90% and most preferably from 60% to 80% of thecomposition.

The present invention comprises a fruit and/or vegetable compositionuseful in the preparation of a freeze-dried, aerated product. The firstcomponent of the composition comprises a fruit and/or vegetableingredient. The fruit and/or vegetable ingredient is selected from anyordinarily known in the art. Preferably, the fruit and/or vegetableingredient is pureed. The fruit and/or vegetable ingredient is presentin an amount from 60% to 98%, preferably from 70% to 90% and mostpreferably from 60% to 80% of the composition.

The second component of the present composition comprises an emulsifier.While not wishing to be bound by any theories, it is believed that theemulsifier reduces the surface tension at the air-liquid interface,therefore allowing for stable dispersion of air bubbles within theviscous liquid matrix. The emulsifier is preferably a lactylated monoand diglyceride. The lactylated mono and diglyceride is selected fromthe group consisting of but not limited to lactic and citrate acidesters of mono- and diglycerides, distilled monoglycerides, andcombinations thereof. While not wishing to be bound by any theories, itis believed that the lactic acid stays in the water phase and themonoglycerides stay in the hydrophobic phase for whipping agent. Thelactylated mono and diglycerides are present in an amount of from 0.001to 1%, preferably from 0.01 to 0.5% and most preferably from 0.1 to 0.4%of the composition. It is believed that the lactylated mono anddiglyceride component of the present invention promotes stabilization ofthe final aerated composition.

The composition of the present invention can further comprise optionalingredients such as starch, gums, whipping aids, sugars and stabilizers.Starches include but are not limited to tapioca, corn and rice. The ricecan be native, physically or chemically modified. Gums include but arenot limited to pectin, gelatin, carrageeenan, locust bean gum, guar gum,cellulose gums, microcrystalline cellulose. Whipping aids include butare not limited to lactic acid esters of mono/diglycerides, as well asother acid esters, and other emulsifiers with foam stabilization ability(polysorbate 80), egg white and whey protein.

Hardness, Dissolvability and Viscosity

The consumer preference for the final product of the present inventionis believed to be based on physical characteristics such as hardness,viscosity and dissolvability. While each characteristic is important,the correct balance between the three components is desired to optimizethe end product of the present invention. Viscosity is defined as ameasure of the resistance of a substance to flow. Viscosity is measuredusing a Brookfield viscometer with a Helipath® stand with an F-T barbefore the composition is aerated. It is believed that while theviscosity aids in holding the shape of a substance through aeration anddeposit, the hardness aids in physical stability. The dissolvability,also a hardness measurement, is the change in hardness of a product ingoing from a dry to a wet state. With increased aeration, which aids indissolvability, the hardness can be negatively affected. Thecompositions and methods of the present invention have unexpectedlydiscovered the optimum balance between viscosity, hardness anddissolvability to provide a physically stable and consumer acceptableproduct.

The composition of the present invention has a hardness value of from0.5 to 8 pounds force, preferably from 1.5 to 5.5 pounds force.

The composition of the present invention has a dissolvability in therange of from 0.1 to 8 peak load.

The composition of the present invention has a viscosity of from 1,000to 100,000 cp, dependent upon the temperature and speed of theviscometer used to measure the viscosity. In the preferred embodiment,the viscosity of the wet composition ranges from 30,000 to 60,000 cp ata 10 RPM speed of the spindle 6 in a Brookfield Viscometer. The mostpreferred range is from 35,000 to 50,000 cp.

The present invention further provides a method of marketing suchcompositions to children to promote child development, increase childdevelopment through providing developmentally appropriate size, shapeand dissolution characteristics. Further, the present invention providesa method of providing probiotics to a child through the compositionsdisclosed herein. It should be understood that the main ingredient inthe compositions can be from the group comprising fruit, vegetables,grains, proteins, dairy, dairy substitutes and any combinations thereof.

Method of Making

A method of preparing a freeze-dried, aerated fruit or vegetable productcomprising the steps of (a) providing a fruit or vegetable blend, (b)adding an emulsifier, (c) thermally processing the fruit or vegetableblend, (d) fermenting the blend, (e) admixing a gas with the blend; (f)simultaneously aerating the gas and the fruit or vegetable blend to forman aerated product, and (f) cooling the product; and (g) freeze-dryingthe product. Step (f) is included as an optional step.

A method of preparing a freeze-dried, aerated fruit and/or vegetableproduct comprising the steps of (a) providing a fruit and/or vegetableblend, (b) adding an emulsifier, (c) thermally processing the fruitand/or vegetable blend, (d) fermenting the blend, (e) admixing a gaswith the blend; (f) simultaneously aerating the gas and the fruit and/orvegetable blend to form an aerated product, and (f) cooling the product;and (g) freeze-drying the product. Step (f) is included as an optionalstep.

Example 1

Puree Melts--Apple Strawberry STEP 1 - Puree Melts Blending % ofComponent SA Number Supplier formula Apple Puree, (12.5 brix) IP04354Gerber 55 White Grape Juice Concentrate, (68 brix) SA00298 San JoaquinValley Conc. 7.5 Strawberry Puree, Seedless, Organic SA04786 Cal Pacific12 Tapioca Starch Novation 3300 National Starch 1 Pectin, High MethoxySA00458 CP Kelco 0.75 Lactic Acid Esters of Mono/Diglycerides SA70271Danisco 0.4 Citric Acid SA00176 Tate and Lyle 0.1 Ascorbic Acid SA00886Weisheng 0.1 Water SA0000 18.65 Total 95.5

Procedure:

1. Preblend starch, Pectin and LACTEM with water using high shearblender (such as bredo).

2. Add ascorbic acid and citric acid to mixture.

3. Slow blender speed to low and add white grape juice concentrate.

4. Finally, add apple puree and strawberry puree and blend on low speed1 min.

5. Run puree blend through plate pastuerizer preheater, then homogenize2500/500 psi (2-stage).

6. Thermally process puree mix at 190 deg F. for 2-8 minutes.

7. Cool to 41 deg. F.

8. Mixture can be deposited unaerated or aerated.

9. To Aerate, pump through Mondomix Aerator and admix nitrogen gas totarget of 30-60% overrun.

10. Deposit as drops, 0.8-1.2 grams weight, onto solid steel freezerbelt and freeze.

11. Freeze dry frozen drops.

The composition described above is made using the methods describedherein.

It should be appreciated that the present invention is not limited tothe specific embodiments described above, but includes variations,modifications and equivalent embodiments defined by the followingclaims.

1. A method of providing a shelf stable fruit or vegetable productcomprising the step of: providing a fruit or vegetable ingredient;adding an emulsifier to the blend; thermally processing the blend;admixing a gas with the blend; and freeze drying the blend.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the fruit or vegetable ingredient is presentin an amount of from 60% to 98% of the product.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the product is used to promote child development.